The present invention relates generally to electrical connectors and relates more particularly to a combined secondary lock and seal for securing and sealing conductor terminals within connector cavities.
A variety of types of electrical connectors and types of wire terminals for use with such connectors have been developed and are widely used, particularly in the automotive industry. While these connectors differ in detail, they typically involve a pair of molded plastic connectors having cavities within which the wire terminals are secured in place by means of a primary terminal lock. A common form of such lock is a tang extending from the terminal and engaging a shoulder portion of the cavity upon seating of the terminal within the cavity.
It has been recognized that such primary terminal locks are subject to malfunction or failure and the need for a secondary lock has resulted in the development of various types of secondary lock mechanisms, one of which is disclosed in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 58,982, filed June 8, 1987.
In many circumstances, it is necessary to provide a sealing of the connector terminal and this need can produce a significant complication in situations in which a secondary terminal lock is required. In one commercially available connector, a resilient seal is placed around the wire within the terminal cavity and a seal retainer is utilized to prevent the migration of the seal from the cavity. This does not, however, provide a satisfactory secondary terminal lock since upon failure of the primary terminal lock, the compressibility of the seal permits the withdrawal of the terminal from its seated position within the cavity, thereby interrupting its connection with the counterpart terminal in the cooperating connector.